Follow this tag to curate your own personalized Activity Stream and email alerts.
A unique hexagonal residential building equipped with a distinctive aluminum “second skin” by Gisele Borges Arquitetura has risen in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Influenced by Brazilian architect, Oscar Niemeyer, the architects created a V-shaped pillar in order to... View full entry
A research team out of the University of Virginia (UVA) has developed a new innovative and sustainable approach to building that utilizes the power of 3D printing to create structures made of soil implanted with seeds. The team consists of Ji Ma, an assistant professor of materials science... View full entry
This post is brought to you by The Land Art Generator Initiative We live in a time of crisis. And yet the future is full of promise. The future is full of promise because of you. Because architects, landscape architects, artists, and designers have the power to create positive change. ... View full entry
Work has been completed on Sluishuis, a residential project in Amsterdam by Bjarke Ingels Group and Barcode Architects. The scheme, which comprises 442 homes, a public green roof garden, and maritime jetties, is defined by a cantilevered form meeting at a high corner. Photograph © Ossip van... View full entry
The American Institute of Architects has released a statement criticizing the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that restricts the EPA’s authority to mandate carbon emissions reductions. The ruling, which decided the case West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, is described by the AIA as a... View full entry
In a 2017 feature article for Archinect, NK Architects’ CMO Zack Semke set out the case for adopting Passive House design principles. “The genius of Passive House design is that it recognizes the building itself – its skeleton and skin – as a technology,” Semke wrote. “Powered by... View full entry
A project by researchers at Texas A&M University has received a $3.74 million grant for the development of resilient, 3D-printed building designs using a new green material called hempcrete. Its usage has the potential to lower the environmental impact of traditional construction methods and make... View full entry
The massive plot of land reserved for renewable energy production by an aging federal policy in Southern California’s Inyo County has finally gotten the go-ahead for development years after its initial announcement by the Obama Administration. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM)... View full entry
MVRDV is transforming the famed Herman Hertzberger-designed Centraal Beheer building in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn into a sustainable, green residential neighborhood. MVRDV will work alongside Hertzberger's office, AHH to revitalize the celebrated structure. Certitudo... View full entry
Researchers at Penn State are set to undertake a study of the environmental impact of construction. The interdisciplinary team, led by associate professor Rahman Azari from the university’s architecture school, will study the embodied carbon emissions associated with the manufacturing... View full entry
Prometheus Materials, a Colorado-based developer of zero-carbon building materials, has announced the securing of $8 million in funding from investors including Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, The Autodesk Foundation, and the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund. The funds form part of an effort by... View full entry
Malls represent heavy investments in infrastructure, construction materials and place making that should not be discarded. The popularity of dead malls as sites for Covid testing and eventually vaccinations underlines these essential qualities: Easy road access, unencumbered indoor space, instant name recognition. Contemplating the mall’s roots in the garden is an opportunity not for picturesque nostalgia but for new solutions. — The New York Times
The author of the forthcoming title Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall, out next week from Bloomsbury, Lange crafts a nice rundown of dead mall spaces’ possible reuses as public gardens, apartment complexes, and even health care centers in a country where... View full entry
President Joe Biden is using his executive powers Monday to boost the domestic production of solar panels and their parts and will issue a 24-month tariff exemption on imports of the products from several countries. The White House said Biden will authorize the use of the Defense Production Act to accelerate manufacturing of solar panels in the United States as a way to strengthen the administration's efforts to shift the country toward clean energy. — NBC News
Invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA) allows the President to order private businesses to prioritize the production of materials deemed necessary for national defense. Aside from accelerating the domestic production of solar panels, Biden is using the Act to rapidly expand American... View full entry
Foster + Partners has unveiled designs for a nine-story, timber-structure department store in Tokyo, presenting an elegant retail space that features several green-building practices. Called the Shibuya Marui Department Store, the space is set to become a new showcase for sustainable lifestyle... View full entry
Norwegian outdoor furniture manufacturer Vestre has moved into The Plus, its new factory in Magnor, Norway, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group. The 75,000-square-foot (7,000-square-meter) factory was built in 18 months and claims to be the world’s most environmentally-friendly furniture... View full entry
